I think the point is a message for future historians. Namely, "since you're wondering why we managed to go from the world's only nuclear super-power to third-world banana republic in under fifty years, this is the sh*t we had to deal with on a daily basis"

The Library of Congress can do whatever the fark it wants with my tax dollars. They don't use that much money, and they don't hurt anyone with it. The LoC is certainly a heck of a lot better than some of our more unnecessary military programs or our handouts to wealthy people.